Why Isn’t ‘New Dawn’ Rose Reblooming? December 12, 2014

Does the New Dawn climbing rose actually re-bloom? Am I pruning inappropriately? I do not seem to get good re-blooming. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Roses are categorized in many ways including whether or not they bloom more than once in a growing season. Many of my favorite old-fashioned roses only flower in spring, but the lack of continuous bloom is made up for by their stellar, "one night only" performance.

‘New Dawn’ is classified as a repeat bloomer, but does not behave in the same way as say a hybrid tea. ‘New Dawn’ is a "sport" or genetic mutation of a rose called ‘Dr. van Fleet’. Most sports have a heavy spring bloom followed by scattered blooms the rest of the season. My ‘New Dawn’ puts on a spectacular show in late spring and then throws off the occasional bloom over the course of the summer.

Repeat flowering roses like ‘New Dawn’ bloom on second year canes for the spring flush and then repeat flower on new wood. I’ve never been very disciplined about deadheading my ‘New Dawn’, but many gardeners have good results getting ‘New Dawn’ to bloom again when they deadhead or remove the spent flowers to encourage new growth.

If you are deadheading your rose and still not seeing additional blossoms, there are some environmental conditions that might reduce production such as too much summer shade, intense heat or drought.

And then there is the question of whether the rose is really ‘New Dawn’ or its parent ‘Dr. van Fleet’. ‘Dr. van Fleet’ is a once blooming rose. Because ‘New Dawn’ is a genetic mutation of ‘Dr. van Fleet’ it is possible, but not common, that some plants reverted to ‘Dr. van Fleet’ when they were developed and then mistakenly sold as ‘New Dawn’.

When it comes to pruning your ‘New Dawn’ there are some distinct practices that apply to climbing roses that you should be aware of. If you are pruning your climber as you would a hybrid tea or cutting it back to the ground every year, you could be losing flowers.

Repeat-blooming climbing roses such as ‘New Dawn’ can bloom for many years on the same older canes. Eventually, if the roses decline in vigor, allow new canes to grow and replace the old ones. Prune in late winter or early spring. Remove all suckers coming from below the bud union, dead growth or twiggy growth from the bud union. Cut all flowering laterals back to 2 or 3 leaf buds. Leaf buds appear as red, nodes on the stem.

A once-blooming climbing rose such as ‘Dr. van Fleet’ flower on the previous year’s wood. Prune these roses right after flowering is finished. If there are too many canes cut the oldest and weakest canes back to the bud union. Remove any suckers from below the bud union, dead wood, and twiggy growth from the bud union. Thin unwanted growth to promote air circulation.